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The life of those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High may be called a Hidden Life, because the animating principle, the vital or operative element, is not so much in itself as in another. It is a life grafted into another life. It is the life of the soul, incorporated into the life of Christ; and in such a way, that, while it has a distinct vitality, it has so very much in the sense, in which the branch of a tree may be said to have a distinct vitality from the root.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Overcoming Disbelief

In reading some account of the experience of a pious person, who is said to have died in the triumphs of faith, I find the following expressions:

I have given God my undivided heart; believing that he does accept of it, and believing that the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin. Like a stone which the builder takes, and puts on the foundation, so do I lie on Christ’s blood and God’s promises; giving God my soul and body a living sacrifice, and covenanting with him never to doubt more. My language is, I will believe. I will sooner die than doubt.

And we may add, it is very proper, and it seems to us indispensable on the part of those, who wish to live the life of faith, that they should not only watch against unbelief, but that they should resolve against unbelief.

This course is sometimes objected to. It is said, and in a general view of the subject is said very correctly, that belief ought to rest upon evidence, and not upon volition. The objection, however, is divested of validity, when it is understood, that the act of volition is not designed to have an influence independently of evidence, but in accordance with it, and in its support. Such have been the results of long-continued habits of doubting, that the faculty of belief, when exercised upon religious subjects, seems to have lost its appropriate power. It has become in a degree paralyzed, and its assent fails to be given, where it obviously ought to be. Under such circumstances it is obvious, that an act of the will may not only be proper, but that it is necessary. The mind, in consequence of having become in some degree disordered, stands in need of the aid, which a purpose or resolve of the will is calculated to give.

A person, for instance, has been the subject of that inward experience, which may be supposed to constitute him a religious person; and as such a person, he has given himself to God in an act of sincere and permanent consecration. He has an inward conviction, in accordance with what is really the case, if he be truly a devout and sincere man, that he has placed all upon the divine altar. And he knows from the Scriptures, that God is pledged to receive all who are in this situation; and that, in accordance with his promises, he will be, and that he is now, a friend and father to them; and that all such persons are, and will be, so long as they continue in such a state of entire consecration, encircled and blessed in his paternal love. All this he knows to be true, because statements and promises of this kind, and to this effect, are abundantly announced in the Scriptures. But it is true, notwithstanding, that he finds a great difficulty in taking these promises home to himself. They are written, but they are not received; they are applicable to his own case, but they are not applied. He has so long disbelieved, that the very faculty of believing, as already has been intimated, may be said to be struck with a palsy. It certainly seems incapable of moving and acting effectually, until it is encouraged and aided by some accessory influence. And a portion of this influence is a volition, or firm resolve, embodied in the declaration, “I will believe,” which I understand to be the same thing with saying, and nothing more than saying, “I will no longer yield to doubts, which I have found to be unreasonable, and which I know to be destructive. The evidence of God, to which Satan, taking advantage of my former evil habits, would blind me, shall have its effect. I will receive it.”

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THOMAS COGSWELL UPHAM

Thomas C. Upham (1799–1872) was an American psychologist, author, teacher, poet, social activist, pacifist, and spiritual writer. Though trained as a Congregationalist pastor, he spent his life as an academic, serving as Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy at Bowdoin College from 1825-1868. He not only taught this subject, he wrote the primary textbook on the subject: Elements of Mental Philosophy (2 Volumes). (Mental Philosophy is what we would today call Psychology.) His textbook on Mental Philosophy was reprinted more than 50 times, going through various editions, over a period of more than 70 years. Thus, Upham's thinking was extremely influential in its day. At the urgings of his wife, Upham attended some of the meetings led by Phoebe Palmer for the promotion of Christian holiness. Here he encountered the message and experience of entire sanctification by faith. After this, he wrote several books explaining, and defending this experience. He also wrote spiritual biographies of Madame Guyon and Catherine of Genoa. An interesting essay (written by psychologist John Uebersax) on the significance of Upham's thinking for the future of psychology and religion can be found here: The Legacy of Thomas Cogswell Upham: An American Psychology of Holiness and Peace. I also recommend Darius Salter's 1986 book Spirit and Intellect: Thomas Upham's Holiness Theology.